Original Sin’s new No Limit ep: reminiscent of a scene in a film where someone’s furiously pumping the brakes… to no avail. The the view through the window simply depicts pure acceleration, and there’s a sense you have no choice but to just get locked down and enjoy the ride.
Albeit a ride of the very, very energetic, unpredictable and white-knuckle, fire, molten steel, broken glass, ambulance variety…
Hi Original Sin how’s it been?
It’s been a busy time, I’ve been touring – the UK, Europe, Canada/USA and I’ve been in the studio a lot making new music.
I’ve also completely overhauled my personal studio adding some analog synths and outboard, partly for sound quality and partly to keep me engaged in new ways.
On the technology front there, what sort of things are you excited about? Seems like a deluge of new options all the time…
I’m massively excited by anything to do with music and technology! In an ideal world I would be sat at an SSL4000 g (console) right now. Don’t get me wrong though: I DO have SSL gear and I’m planning on expanding it further.
I like to work with real physical controls rather than a mouse if I can so anything that allows me to do that is interesting to me. I think we’re in an good time for hardware right now, whether it’s synthesizers or outboard there’s a lot hopping out there.
Can you take us through the title track of the ep? Love the synths on this. & do you still love the z3ta? Tell us more.
‘No Limit’ was the first track written for the EP. It is a hybrid in a way.
I used some techniques I would usually reserve for mixing/mastering my ‘Tek’ material but relaxed them considerably as this track is lot more ‘bold’ in nature and I felt it would make it stand out a bit more.
And you guessed it, that’s z3ta playing the distorted synth lead. The intro and lower bass, FX etc are all real-world analog synths tracked through focusrite pre’s… on this occasion.
And continuing with ep tunes: ‘Tetra’?
On ‘Tetra’ I used an old E-MU sampler from the late 90s early 00s to make the break filter section just before the drop… DJ SS actually dropped one of his old units off at the studio for me, thanks bro!
Armed with a single dial and a few buttons It took me about 40 mins to cut the break up !
But I’m not complaining I live for stuff like that.
I’ve become quite attached to a Wavestation that we have in the UK studio too actually, but it’s no replacement for my Prophet 12.
Is the E-Mu sticking around?
The EM-U kicked the bucket just after I made ‘Tetra’ with it sadly but I will have it repaired.
OK, to ‘Get the F*ck Out’… who’s this aimed at? Sounds angry. I love that intro…
Ha ha it does have that ‘written about someone or something’ kind of vibe to it doesn’t it?
I suppose only I will ever know what I was thinking when I wrote the track. I do always try to involve some kind of emotion/vibe – call it what you want – in my music even if it is a simple dance floor track like ‘GTFO’.
I think that resonates with people and makes them feel more involved in the track.
The tune ‘Killer’? What can I say? It’s filthy.
‘Killer’ fitted the bill nicely. it’sone of those ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’ kind of tracks, very straight forward but never dull.
It was the last track to be added to the EP. I wasn’t in any rush to finish this project and in fact I could probably have handed it in to Playaz in December but I wanted to wait until I was sure I had the right combination of tracks.
And when did No Limit come together generally? Did you go in with a clear view of what the whole thing should sound like? I ask as the cover art asserts something pretty straight forward and defiant.
Well, I had just completed the Running Man and Fire Inside projects and it was always my plan to follow that up with what I would call a ‘dancefloor’ EP.
With the exception of my Grow Your Wings album which was written as a complete project, I usually make tracks, test them out for a few months and then decide what will be used to form the next release whether its an EP or a single.
What do you do in your down time? Considering the music is so hi-octane. I mean I don’t want to make it like a ‘hobbies & interests’ type question but more how do you let off steam?
I spend my downtime with my gf and my cats because touring often means I won’t see them for weeks at a time. In the summer there’s a lot to do in Toronto when I can be tempted away from my studio.
I read a lot of industry magazines and gear manuals I’m sad to admit. And watch a lot of movies.
Occasionally I can be talked into going to the gym. I’ll probably make that my ‘thing’ for the next couple months as it’s summer soon!
